Jeff McDonald: Horry not retired yet

As of 12:30 on Saturday afternoon, Robert Horry was still not a retiree.

The 37-year-old reserve forward, on the short list of greatest role players in NBA history, said Saturday he would still like to keep playing, and would still like to keep playing for the Spurs.

“Right now, I’m up in the air,” Horry said. “I want to play. Eighty percent of me wants to play. I’m sure once I get in the gym and see people bouncing the ball, it will turn to 100 percent.”

Horry said last summer he expected this year to be the last of his 16-season NBA career. He’s just having trouble letting go.

Horry said Saturday his options will probably boil down to either playing for the Spurs or retiring. His contract expires this summer, meaning his return to San Antonio would be entirely at the club’s discretion.

He has not completely ruled out playing for another team, but given the low demand for players pushing 40, he’s not expected to command much on the open market.

Part of Horry’s aversion to retirement stems from the fact that he doesn’t know what else he would do with his time. He doesn’t really want to coach (“Too many knuckleheads out there,” he says). And he doesn’t see a future for himself in television (“If I get excited, I might start cursing”).

There is always the question of Horry’s legacy.

Before he left Saturday, Horry was asked whether it was possible for a player to hang around too long. He shook his head, and brought up Michael Jordan.

“People always say, ‘His game wasn’t as good as it was, ‘ ” Horry said. “When they talk about Michael Jordan, his game was so freaking good, that even though he wasn’t where he was (at the end of his career), he was still better than half the league.”

Horry isn’t about to compare himself to Jordan. But …

“If I stuck around, I’m still better than a lot of players,” he said. “I might not be as fast as a lot of them, or as quick. But I’m smarter than about 98 percent of league.”

Here, Horry paused for a laugh, and the gathered media corps obliged. You had to wonder if it was the last joke he’d tell as an NBA player.